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JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
11-11-2008, 05:38 AM (This post was last modified: 11-11-2008 05:44 AM by JLs Detailing.)
Post: #1
JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Ok I got this job through a recommendation from FMINUS. Seems the customer contacted FMINUS through a bimmer forum and wanted her BMW detailed but she lived on the other side of the country in NC and wanted to know if he could recommend someone. Well he gave her my name and she contacted me. Only problem was she lived 3.5 hours away. Well I have some family in her area and things worked out where I would be in her area this past weekend so we set up a date. Well she wanted the 545i done as well as a Z3 that belonged to her Aunt. I also ended up with two more cars while I was there as a friend of the family I was staying with found out I was there and requested that his two cars be done.:headbang:

My wife's uncle who has helped me before helped out on all the details. After his stroke a few years ago he has been unable to work and although he has always been a car enthusiast just isn't able to do a lot anymore. Well he has gotten the detailing bug from helping me and it makes him feel useful again so it was a pleasure having him help out. Oh and by the way he does absolutely phenomenal interior work. Well on to the detail:

Tires/Wheels/Wells: Well I used P21s Wheel Gel on the wheels with an assortment of brushes and such. I used the EZ Wheel brush, Black Magic wheel brush bent 90 degrees for getting behind the spokes, lug nut brush, and foam finger pocket. The tires got P21s TAW and the wells got Majestic Solutions Super Green Stuff @ 2:1 and a black Shmitt.

The tires were first dressed with Megs Hyper Dressing @ 1:1 with a TW tire applicator cut in half for easy application on the lo profile tires. I then dressed them with the same method with the other half of the TW applicator and Swissvax Pneu. Wells were dressed with CGs Bare Bones.

Exhaust: I used Megs Wheel Brightner first on the exhaust with a black wheel shmitt and then polished them with Autosol. This was a great combo and gave a brand new look to the exhaust.

Engine: I gave the engine a quick rinse then sprayed it down with MS SGS. I agitated it and re-rinsed. I dried most of the water with a leaf blower and then sprayed the engine bay down with Megs HD @ 3:1. I cranked the engine and let it run for about 20 minutes and it turned out great.

Wash: Well if there was anything on the car I wanted it off so I went with the foam cannon with 2 oz of CGs Citrus Wash Clear and 1 oz of CGs Strong Wash. I used a Zymol Sponge and man I love that thing. My wife's uncle also fell in love with my other Zymol Sponge and everytime I looked he had it. The bugs got CGs Strong Wash @ 4:1 and a Majestic Solutions bug sponge. Well this combo as usual knocked the bugs out with no problem. It makes the job so much easier. The entire wash including wheels and engine were done with the CR Spotless System. The car was then dried with the leaf blower.

Clay: Ok first let me get on my soap box for a minute. I want to say that thankfully I have been able to meet a lot of people throughout the world thanks to this site and other sites I am a member of. With that I have also gained a lot of friendships from folks in other countries that are always willing to help me out when I need it. Well this allows me to purchase clay that the folks at Auto Magic claim I can't have due to their monopoly. Well since I have friends that will buy it and give it to me I can bypass Auto Magic and I always will. I have no intentions thanks to good friends of ever buying any clay from Auto Magic and they can kiss my proverbial ass!

Well off my soap box now and onto what I consider the VERY BEST clay ever made. I am talking about Bilt Hamber clay. I love that all I have to use for lube is water and it won't destroy the clay. For this detail I used Bilt Hamber Soft clay. It is every bit as pliable as Riccardo and does a great job. If you don't have any BH you need to get it! The clay did a great job of pulling the contaminates out of the paint and leaving it slick as glass.

Glass: Glass inside and out got Stoners Invisible Glass. It was applied with a glass MF and buffed off with a WW MF.

Interior: The interior was in pretty good shape but when my helper got through it was in incredible shape! It was vacuumed with the shop vac (I've got to show him about putting stripes in the mats). The interior was wiped down with CGs Silk Shine and a MF mitt. My wife's uncle fell in love with the Silk Shine and used it on every detail we did. The leather got one of my favorites, 1Z Leather Care Lederpflege. I really really like this product as it cleans and conditions and leaves the leather looking so great and natural.

Paint: The paint was in pretty good shape with a few rough spots on the doors and some hologramming. I decided that only the best would do for the 545i so I broke out the Scholl Concepts. I used S17 with a blue Scholl Concepts pad (like an organge LC pad) on the doors. I then followed up with the incredible finishing polish S40 on a Scholl Concepts orange pad (like a white polishing pad). The S17 abolished the imperfections as you can see:

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As you can see the Scholl Concepts polishes do a phenomenal job and no dusting! The S40 really gave a great shine and made the flake just pop! Everything was buffed off with the CGs 530 XL MFs.

Protection: I used Jetseal since I was going to be topping with a nuba. It was applied with a CGs Stage 3 Applicator and buffed off with a 530xl MF.

LSP: I decided along with the owner to go with Zymol Glasur. This is one of Zymols most underrated waxes. This wax on silver is great. It made the paint look incredible. After finishing I gave the entire car a wipedown with Clearkote Quick Shine.

The owner was ecstatic and I was really pleased with how it came out. Here are the before and afters and in one of the pics you get a little teaser of the Z3 that is coming up.

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Random and Reflection pics:

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11-11-2008, 08:30 AM
Post: #2
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
I see the image's aren't showing....Photobucket seems to be down thats probably why Hammerhead

JL a couple of questions in the meantime while we wait for the images to come back online...

What is MS SGS that you used on the motor ?

Do you usually find that the CG Citrus and Strong Wash combo removes all previous waxes, sealants and other paint protection films/glazes that many of the auto dealers have applied before delivery ? We often see vehicles here that have been 'glazed' and sometimes the damn stuff only seems to come off when polishing, often messing up or staining your pads in the process!

When you dress the motor with the Meg's HD do you lightly mist the entire bay and then let it dry or is there another secret to getting it to work ? We have tried it before but havn't had much luck with it.


Good to see you back online JL and thanks for sharing Thumbsup2

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11-11-2008, 08:51 AM
Post: #3
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Nice work JL, I love this 5 series shape! I wanted to steal the 550i we did a few weeks ago Wink

Carn, I can view all the pics.....

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11-11-2008, 09:27 AM
Post: #4
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Seems they working now....Couldn't login to Photobucket earlier either so maybe they had some hiccups or something seeing as everything else was working Hammerhead

Car looks great JL, good as new Wink

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11-11-2008, 09:37 AM (This post was last modified: 11-11-2008 09:38 AM by MeTsU.)
Post: #5
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Nice work JL! What a beaut - love that shape too!

(11-11-2008 08:51 AM)freerider Wrote:  ...I wanted to steal the 550i we did a few weeks ago Wink...

Hey...don't be saying that on a public forum... Tongue HAHA.

Matteo - 2005 Polo 1.9TDi Sportline - Sooty
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11-11-2008, 02:09 PM
Post: #6
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Lovely car! Brilliant work.

I must admit. I love the M5 or a 5 series with a M kit **DROOL**
Just a pity they sound like chelsea tractors when they idle...

Mike

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** Still thinking of something intelligent to say... **

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11-11-2008, 03:03 PM
Post: #7
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Have driven a 1 series,3series,5series,7series,x3,x5,z4 and the 5 and 7 series was very nice cars, and the Z4 was horrible. The 5 series is also the beauty out of the bunch for me.
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11-11-2008, 09:00 PM
Post: #8
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Thanks for the compliments guys and it means a lot coming from guys that do such great work. Carn what I do with the Megs HD is I lightly mist everything under the hood. Close the hood and let the car run for about 20 minutes. When you lift the hood after 20 minutes you might have to wipe a few areas to even it out but it comes out pretty much like you see in the pics. I never had success with Megs HD on the engine until I started letting it run for 20 minutes and sort of baking it in.

The MS SGS is Majestic Solutions Super Green Stuff. Its the very best APC I have ever used. It is manufactured here in North Carolina where I live. When I inquired about it the owner asked me what I had been using and I told him Megs APC cut 1:1. He told me SGS cut 5:1 would make Megs APC look like water. He was right! I use it all the time at 2:1 and its safe on paint or anything else on the car. Some really good strong cleaners make black plastic pieces look almost whitish color but not SGS. It cleans the crap out of it and leaves it looking black like it should.

And Carn I do find that the CGS CWC and Strong Wash combo will remove just about everything from the car. It even does a pretty damn good job on tar!

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11-11-2008, 10:01 PM
Post: #9
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Thanks for the tips JL, I think we might have been a little too sparing with the HD Hammerhead

MS SGS sounds like fantastic stuff, I have had some good results from 4:1 APC so I can only imagine this stuff must be good. Have you had any issues with any of the APC's staining window rubbers btw ? I had it happen on a car before but thankfully after some dressings they came out perfectly again!

Don & Naushad I hope you are listening, we need the CG's Citrus Wash and Strong Wash......ASAP Bluebiggrin

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11-11-2008, 10:26 PM
Post: #10
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
I also use the bake method, works wonders, but with 303. I wonder where we can get this APC?
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12-11-2008, 08:09 AM
Post: #11
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
(11-11-2008 10:26 PM)calypso Wrote:  I also use the bake method, works wonders, but with 303. I wonder where we can get this APC?

I'm sure if enough guys are keen and we ask JL nicely he will be able to make a plan to ship a bottle over for us Wink

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12-11-2008, 02:36 PM
Post: #12
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
(12-11-2008 08:09 AM)Carn Wrote:  
(11-11-2008 10:26 PM)calypso Wrote:  I also use the bake method, works wonders, but with 303. I wonder where we can get this APC?

I'm sure if enough guys are keen and we ask JL nicely he will be able to make a plan to ship a bottle over for us Wink

I'm sure this could be arranged! I buy this stuff in 5 gallon containers when I buy it. You will notice on my show and shines that I use this on EVERY detail I do.

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12-11-2008, 02:41 PM
Post: #13
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
(12-11-2008 02:36 PM)JLs Detailing Wrote:  I'm sure this could be arranged! I buy this stuff in 5 gallon containers when I buy it. You will notice on my show and shines that I use this on EVERY detail I do.

What does it cost per gallon JL ? I am too scared to even ask what the shipping on a gallon would cost Uhoh2

David : 083 642 2118
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12-11-2008, 05:54 PM
Post: #14
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
(12-11-2008 02:41 PM)Carn Wrote:  What does it cost per gallon JL ? I am too scared to even ask what the shipping on a gallon would cost Uhoh2

When I buy it by the 5 gallon pail it works out to about $8 a gallon. I would be glad to send a gallon for free if you guys wanted to pick up the shipping cost but I'm like you I shudder to think what the shipping might be.

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12-11-2008, 06:52 PM
Post: #15
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Awesome stuff JL, your generosity never ceases to amaze me Clap

I got a quick quote off Phils site for a gallon bottle of Adams Car Wash and it is $66 via USPS Priority Mail Icon_jaw

If I am not mistaken JL you are not that far away from Phil so I am guessing the cost would be pretty much the same...Guess there goes that idea Hammerhead

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12-11-2008, 07:09 PM
Post: #16
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Dang that is unbelievable! Yeah I'm not that far away from Phil so it would probably be about the same.

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12-11-2008, 08:46 PM
Post: #17
RE: JLs Detailing: BMW 545i
Oeff
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